The Sinner and the Angel
by Lightfellow
Summary: [KadajXAerith] Kadaj is haunted by recurring dreams of Aerith. What does the flowergirl want with him? And will his obsession for the Cetra turned into love? Or something much more twisted? [PG13 for some adult content]
1. Default Chapter

The Sinner and the Angel 

_Author's note: My first attempt to write a short Kadaj fic. For those of you who didn't know, Kadaj is one of the SHM in Square Enix's upcoming "Advent Children". He's really a bad bad person in the movie but here I'll try to bring out the best in him._

_Note that this is a KadajXAerith fic. Weird, I know but hell, if you don't like it, don't read it, simple as that._

Chapter one: An evil plan spawned

He clenched and unclenched his fists again, thinking of what his "brother" had proposed.

Stupid, mindless fools, he thought, his silvery green eyes darkened but despite all the hate going through his mind, he had a smile on his face as he turned to look at his "brothers".

"Good plan. I'll leave this one to you, Loz."

Loz, a big and slightly clumsy, oversized man nodded happily. It was rather ironic how they were brothers but their similarities were not much, except for their very obvious pale silvere eyed the room he was in now. It was once the room of the former SHINRA president, Rufus. But now, it was the home to Kadaj and his brothers.

_This godforsaken place_, he thought frowning.

With a calculated jump, he leaped behind the desk and sat down on the chair, the place where Rufus once sat.

Now that the SHINRA building had been abandoned, no one knew they were staying here. Even if someone knew, no one dared to make any comments!" Loz remarked, grinning widely.

Kadaj rolled his eyes but was careful not to let his brothers saw it. The last thing they need to know was that he had a plan of his own.

As his brothers exited the room, Kadaj was left to do some thinking of his own. Perfect timing, he thought. He'd been getting less sleep the couple of days, due to an obnoxious dream that simply won't let up.

He crossed his arms and walked towards the big stain glassed mirror as he gazed outside. He could see the streets of Midgar from where he was. Much of the sectors were torn and rundown. Everything on the street looked to be a mess.

_In here, it isn't any better_, he thought as he eyed the room he was in now. It was once the room of the former SHINRA president, Rufus. But now, it was the home to Kadaj and his brothers.

_This godforsaken place_, he thought frowning.

With a calculated jump, he leaped behind the desk and sat down on the chair, the place where Rufus once sat.

Now that the SHINRA building had been abandoned, no one knew they were staying here. Even if someone knew, no one dared to make any comments about it. Their short stay in Midgar, a total of seven days, had already created enough commotion and fear.

_This is how I like it_, he thought with a twisted smile.

**Author note: Okay, this is fairly short. I don't want to write a huge chunk of it incase no one is interested to read. So tell me what you all think and if I should continue.**


	2. Chapter 2: Disturbing Thoughts

**Wow, someone actually read my fic! 0o Anyway, yeah as per request, here's another chappie. Hopefully a longer one and will provide greater insight on the plot of the story. Enjoy **

Chapter Two: Disturbing thoughts

It was the same one every night. The same goddamned nightmare. And everyday, he woke up feeling tired, anxious and angry. Everyday he felt like he needed to kill something to get this burden off his mind.

_Mother, where are you?_ He asked silently into the darkness of the night. The room was quiet. He knew his brothers were sleeping across the room, planning for their attack the next day.

Feeling somewhat awake now, after that disturbed dream, he sat up from his bed and lightly touched his neck, feeling small beads of perspiration.

_Don't worry. You'll find Mother. And you'll kill him soon, _he told himself over and over again. Yet this offered little comfort.

Finally, Kadaj decided he had to get out of bed and do something. Anything. As long as he didn't fall asleep, he won't see her.

Strutting to his dresser, he pulled out a black cloak and put it on, making certain he hung the hood over his head so as to shroud his face in shadows. He didn't want anyone on the street, if there was anyone at this late hour, to recognize him.

His fingers gently traced out the shiny smooth surface of his double-blade. He won't need this tonight. But one can never be certain. Who knows? Perhaps he could find something to hunt.

The streets of Midgar were indeed lonely. Kadaj walked swiftly and with purpose, as if he knew where he was heading and what he was going to do there. Yet in his mind, was blankness that only Kadaj himself understood.

That dream, that damned dream that haunt him every night, ever since he came face to face with that traitorous fool.

_Cloud_, he thought, feeling anger and disgust rising in his heart and soul. _What a fool he is, to oppose our great Mother. What a bloody fool…_

His train of thoughts was suddenly interrupted when he realized he had reached a place he knew too well, but never before had he came here. A place that had made recurring appearances in his dreams.

His sharp green eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he muttered a low curse under his breath.

He was standing in front of a rundown church. And he stood there, motionless for a few minutes as the wind started to pick up and ruffle the leaves of the trees and on the ground. A slow but ever so quiet melody seemed to be playing, as if someone was gently playing a piano. Yet he could not make out where that melody was coming from.

The road and the church, it seemed, were deserted. As he debate on what to do next, a sudden gust of wind blew off the hood that was previously shrouding his head, so that the moonlight cast a eerie glow on his head of white silvery hair.

Standing there, unmoving and unfazed, he decided he would step into the church and face whatever thing awaiting him there.

For once, he was determined to put an end to this mysterious dream.

His every step echoed dully in the church as he made his way slowly, but deliberately, across the aisle, and towards the altar. Glancing around, he noticed that one part of the roof was torn away, revealing the night sky.

The moonbeams shone through that broken hole and onto a part of the church that was further away from Kadaj, nearer to the altar. His pale green eyes fall onto the portion of the floor where the moonbeams had cast its holy light on, and it was then he noticed something spectacular.

On the center of the aisle, was a flowerbed of white lilies, unspoiled and still blooming. Kadaj made his way towards that flowerbed, feeling a slight bit of tension.

"What the hell is this…?" he muttered, frowning as he slowly bent down and forcefully, broke a flower. Feeling the frail white petals in his palm, he narrowed his eyes and crushed it.

"Damn you!" he suddenly yelled, his green eyes now glowing with emotion and rage. "Don't you mess with me!" he turned his body around the church as if he was expecting to see someone watching him.

With an angry cry, he wield out his blade and with an agile move that was so fast, he slashed violently across the flowerbed, sending white petals fluttering in the air around him.

Breathing heavily, he closed his eyes momentarily to calm his enraged self down. As the petals slowly fell to the ground around him, he thought he heard a voice spoke.

_Wake up, silly._

"Huh?" he spun around, holding his blade close to him. If anything moves, he would kill it without remorse and hesitation.

But the church was empty. And the only sound he could hear, was the unsteady beating of his own heartbeat.

**And here it ends the chappie two. Don't kill me for cliffhangers. Oh and one last reminder, this fic is a Kadaj X Aerith fic, so if you don't like romance, or that particular pairing, DON'T read this.**


	3. Chapter 3: Mysterious Girl

I'm so sorry to say that my PC is acting up so I couldn't get access to , nor could I read all the comments and reviews you people gave me! Sorry for the wait!

Chapter Three: Mysterious Girl 

Loz was grinning from ear to ear the next morning and even Yazoo, the calm one of the group, was disturbed by his behaviour.

"Would you wipe off that dirty smirk on your face?" Yazoo said, crossing his arms as he glanced at Loz with disdain.

But Loz was in a cheery mood and nothing Yazoo said could dampen it. "She's so delicious, I could swallow her up." He laughed loudly as he said so.

Just then, Kadaj entered the hall. "Who's so delicious?" he asked, even though his blank expression revealed he's not even slightly interested in hearing the answer.

"That big girl down at the Orphanage of course." Loz replied, grinning again. "I told you the plan yesterday, Kadaj. I'm gonna knock her off her feet."

"Good luck." Kadaj muttered, his attention already drawn elsewhere.

Yazoo rolled his pretty green eyes at his brother. "Loz, do remember we want the little one."

Loz did not reply but gave a snort as he turned away from Yazoo and to Kadaj instead.

"Kadaj, I'll bring you the little one as I promised. But let me have fun with that sexy bitch first."

The leader of the group shrugged. "Do whatever you want. As long as you bring her back in one piece."

His reply earned a big grin on Loz's face as he started to pack his weapons and armor before nodding his head at them.

"I'll be off then! Be back by sunset."

As soon as Loz left the building, Yazoo strutted over to Kadaj and sat down on the table just in front of him.

Distracted, Kadaj looked up and met Yazoo's eyes. "What?" he asked, crossly. He was hardly in the mood for another one of Yazoo's pretty tantrums.

"You shouldn't let Loz do whatever he want. He'll drag us down with him." The slender man complained, tossing back a strand of silver hair.

Kadaj stared at Yazoo for a few seconds, before putting away the newspaper he was reading previously. "So what do you proposed, my dear brother?" he asked, his tone full of mockery.

Yazoo's deep green eyes darkened ever so slightly at the spiteful tone Kadaj was using against him. "It is up to you. You're the leader after all…"

Without warning, Kadaj slammed his hands on the table suddenly as he stood up. The sudden loud "bang" of his knuckles against the wooden oak table gave Yazoo a shock as he leaped back in surprise and fear.

Kadaj slowly leaned forward, his sharp liquid green eyes trained on Yazoo. "Don't you ever question me, Yazoo. Don't you _ever_ question me again."

Yazoo remained silent, even though there was a flicker of anger in his eyes but it quickly subsided into something similar to that of a submission.

"Yes… Kadaj." He muttered softly, lowering his head.

Kadaj narrowed his eyes slightly and there was a moment of silent tension in the atmosphere. Finally, Kadaj gave Yazoo a wave of dismissal and the latter quickly nodded and left the room.

_In his dream, it was always the same setting. The same place. The same stream of moonlight. Even the melody that plays in the background never changes._

_The church was empty when he stepped inside. He was aware there was a horrible stench of blood. Raw blood. As if some massacre had just taken place. Yet he was also aware that the rusty scent of blood turned him on. It made him want to spill more of them. So that its scent will run forever and ever._

_And often, during this part of his dream, when he was just feeling "high", that sick melody will start to play in the background. He hated that song. He'd heard it before but he couldn't quite remember. It was just a sick song._

_Then his dream will take him further into the church, until he was just standing in front of the altar, in the middle of a flowerbed full of pretty white flowers._

"_Where the hell am I?" he asked himself every night._

"_Don't step on the flowers." She would say._

_He would turn around and looked at her with disgust. "Who the hell are you?"_

"_You know who I am."_

"_No I don't. What's this sick place?"_

_She never gave him an answer. She always wore that sick shade of pink and pretended that he wasn't there._

"_Answer me!" he would shout at her. She was always so interested in that stupid flowerbed of hers. The way she put her small hands on the petals and the way her fingers caressed them, made him angry somehow._

"_Don't you ignore me!" he would start to walk towards her. In his dream, he would always stop a few steps in front of her. "Who are you?" he whispered, this time, his voice held uncertainty._

_She looked up at him and he saw that her eyes were so green; they blinded him for an instant. "My name is…"_

_She never did finish her sentence. Because the next moment, she would suddenly smile kindly at him, and giggled a little, "Wake up, silly."_

"I never had dreams. They're unrealistic." Yazoo said that evening, when Kadaj asked him if he ever had any weird dreams before.

To that, Kadaj did not reply, nor did Yazoo ask him why he had asked this question in the first place.

By late evening, when Loz did not show up, Yazoo got worried.

"Maybe he's gotten himself hurt." He said, with a small frown on his pretty face.

"Maybe." Kadaj replied wistfully. There was disinterest in his voice that Yazoo understood immediately.

"I'll look for him then." Yazoo said before exiting the room and leaving Kadaj alone with his thoughts.

As soon as Kadaj was alone, he took the opportunity to weigh his plans. First of all, they had come to Midgar in the guise of searching for "Mother". At least, a part of his plan was indeed, to find "Mother" but unbeknownst to his two brothers, Kadaj had his own plan.

_Sephiroth_.

_Mother is but a vessel of energy that can revive the Great Sephiroth,_ he thought. If he could find "Mother", he could use Her, along with the little one to revive Sephiroth. And with that, his ultimate purpose would be served. He would die gratefully in the honor of reviving the Great One.

_How silly of you!_

Kadaj spun around. "Who is that?!"

There was silence. He was the only one in the building now. Maybe he was hearing things.

Frowning, he reached for his blade, fingering the cold hard blade and feeling the sharpness of the edge, until he accidentally cut his index finger and his deep red blood started to trickle slowly onto the blade.

"I won't let you take away everything from me." He whispered darkly in the silent room. "I'll find Mother and Sephiroth. I will."

**Thanks so much for the interest and support given to this fic. Firstly I'll like to apologize for any grammatical, spelling etc errors and secondly, to any misinformation or inaccuracies or ill linkage of the story to FFVII and/or Advent Children. Hope you will continue to support this story! See you in chapter four! **


	4. Chapter 4: Gifted Child

Chapter Four: Gifted Child 

As the sun slowly sets into the horizon, the sky turned crimson red and orange. The silver-haired leader leaned himself back on the chair as he placed his legs on the table.

The front door suddenly burst open as Yazoo appeared, his arms wrapped around an injured Loz.

"I see she was too hot for you to handle." Kadaj said coldly, unimpressed.Loz looked about to argue back but Yazoo quickly interrupted.

"Kadaj, he was hurt by the one you called our 'brother'."

_Interesting,_ Kadaj thought as he slowly removed his legs from the table and sat up a little straighter. "Cloud was there?"

Loz nodded. He might not have been badly bruised physically, but his ego sure took the hit. "Yeah. He showed up just when I was about to have the girl."

A slow smile crept onto Kadaj's face. "You didn't get the little one back."

"That child was almost mine! But Cloud…"

"Shut up!" Kadaj shouted suddenly, his green eyes narrowed in rage. Black attitude filled the room as Loz and Yazoo both quiet down. "You're thinking too much of _Tifa._ When I first allowed you to have your fun with her, I specifically told you to bring the child back."

"Yes…" Loz muttered, his head low and full of shame.

Kadaj rest both his hands on the table as he leaned forward, a few strands of his rich silvery hair fell across his otherwise, flawless childlike face. "You disgraced the name of Mother, fool." He whispered, every word he said, full of spite and venom.

Yazoo remained quiet as he watched the exchange between Loz and Kadaj, his expression unreadable.

"Maybe…give me one more day, I'll…" Loz started to plead but Kadaj raised his hand suddenly, as if to command him to be silent.

"No." Kadaj said firmly. "I'll bring that child back. We need her for the reunion." Casting a sideward glance at Yazoo, he continued, "Think you can distract our traitorous brother down, in the meantime?"

Yazoo gave a stiff bow. "Considered it done."

"Good." Kadaj muttered, nodding his head slightly. "Leave now, both of you. We have work to do…tonight."

The plan was simple and that was how Kadaj like it. Simple and clean. Yazoo and Loz were to distract Cloud and his friends in whichever way possible while Kadaj would infiltrate into the Orphanage and picked the child up.

As security around the Orphanage had tightened up recently, following the attacks Kadaj and his brothers had given just a couple of days ago, Kadaj must make certain this infiltration mission remained a stealth mission.

Marlene, the child they were after, was somewhere hidden in the huge Orphanage that house thousands of homeless children after their homes were destroyed two years ago by the Meteor summoned by Kadaj's lord, Sephiroth. The children played an important role in his plan.

In fact, even his brothers are still uncertain of their goals and aims. They only knew they had to find Mother.

They didn't know that Kadaj's real plan is to revive Sephiroth, and sacrificed Mother in the process of doing so.

As the Orphanage came into view, Kadaj slipped on his black cloak. Feeling his double blade sheathed nicely, just underneath his cloak, he smiled.

_In his dream, she always smiled so kindly at him. As if he was some long lost friend, when he never even met her before._

"_What are you smiling about?" he would ask, irritation and annoyance written all over his face._

"_Why are you so angry?" she would retort, rolling her emerald green eyes at him until he would be at a loss for words._

"_Why are you here? What am I doing here? Why won't you leave me alone!"_

"_Complaints, complaints." She mocked him with a teasing glimmer of light in her eyes._

_It was weird however, that Kadaj never thought to kill her. Even though in his dream, he always held his blade with him._

"_This is not a dream." Kadaj muttered. "This is a Reunion."_

"_Huh?" she tilted her head slightly, her green eyes questioning._

"_I need to get that child…for this type of Reunion. But with someone else." He said slowly, a smile appeared on his face._

"_No…" It was the first time Kadaj had seen her lost her carefree smile and instead, replaced by a concerned frown._

"_Wait, don't go." She called out to him. But already, Kadaj had his back turned against her and was walking back down the aisle, towards the entrance of the church._

"_Don't go, I say!" she called out again, this time, there was annoyance in her voice._

_Kadaj stopped in his tracks. "Who are you?" he asked, his back still facing her._

_There was no reply. Finally, when Kadaj thought she had disappeared, and he was about to turn around, she suddenly spoke._

"_Cloud, don't do this."_

Kadaj walked quietly towards the Orphanage and noticed, at once that there were two young teenagers stationed at the front door as guards.

_Can't they come up with a better defense?_ He thought, shaking his head in disgust. Clutching his blade now, he unsheathed the weapon and the moonlight cast thin reflections of the blade back into his eyes, so much so that he narrowed his eyes slightly, pleased.

"Say your last prayers now, boys." He muttered coldly. As soon as he finished his sentence, a sudden gust of wind blew across the road as the teenagers witness a gigantic black raven just hovering over their heads.

It took them about three seconds to realize that it was not a raven, but a piece of black cloak.

But by then, it was too late. The last thing they saw was the deep green eyes of their enemy and then a sudden sharp glint of white light that momentarily blinded them.

After that, the blade did the talking.

And all was silent.

Smirking, Kadaj sheathed his weapon in again as he deliberately swung the door open loudly and walked into the Orphanage.

The Orphanage was quiet and it was larger than Kadaj would have expected. It wouldn't be an easy job locating the young girl if she wasn't so special.

However, Kadaj knew the girl would lead him to her. And so he walked passed the silent corridors, occasionally hearing the soft snores of the children.

He stopped short at one particular door. There was complete silence from the inside. He reached out and turned the knob.

It was locked.

"Marlene…" he whispered her name, letting his word hung in the air between him and the room.

Then, he heard soft footsteps coming from the inside. As if some small thing had hopped out of bed and was slowly making unsteady steps towards the door.

"Who is it?" a small girlish voice called out. "Is that you, Cloud?"

_Cloud, don't do this._

He did not reply but the knob started to turn and the door creaked opened. A small brown head peeked out from the door.

"You're not Cloud." The small girl whispered, her voice trembled slightly as she said so but still, she remained calm.

"No, I'm not Cloud." He replied coldly. "It's funny how some people can mixed us up."

"What do you want?" she asked and Kadaj admired her courage.

"You."

Note: There ISN'T a typo error when Aerith called Kadaj "Cloud" in the dream. It was meant to be that way.

**Hope you all like it! Oh and do let me know if you're confused about anything so that I could try to clear things up a bit in the next chappie. **


	5. Chapter 5: Aerith, the flowergirl

**Sorry for the delay, guys. School is the ultimate evil, tsk tsk…**

Chapter Five: Aerith, the flowergirl

The little girl proved to be a tough nut to crack. Even Yazoo and Loz couldn't dig out any information from her.

"Let's just kill her." Loz said, in a fit of frustration.

"Don't be a fool." Yazoo muttered calmly. "We need her to find Mother."

Kadaj only listened quietly while the two brothers shot insults and sarcasm at each other. Only he knew the truth. He needed the child for the Reunion with the Great One. Only that gifted child can do that. Only she was different from the rest.

"Leave the girl to me." Kadaj finally said, bringing the entire conversation to rest.

* * *

However, Marlene refused to eat, drink or speak for that matter. For days, she kept quiet and refused to answer Kadaj's questions.

Kadaj knew he was running out of time. He knew for a fact that Cloud and his friends are searching everywhere for Marlene. It would not be long before they found their hideout.

"Speak, child! Or else, I'll kill you!" Kadaj warned, wielding out his double-blade and pointing it just slightly below her chin.

The girl did not tremble. Instead, she eyed him with unfeeling eyes, and did not say a word.

"Fool!" Kadaj snarled with rage as he lower his blade, his eyes started to glow an eerie hue of green and silver. "I'll let you taste a bit of my nastiness." He threatened darkly.

All at once, the room started to darken as Kadaj's hands emitted a strange grayish illumination that made his sharp green eyes even more frightening. There seemed to be a strong evil aura emitting from his body that even Marlene felt instantly, because she immediately shrank away from him and started to quiver.

"Frightened now, are we?" he whispered cruelly into her face. "I want you for the Reunion. Take me to Him now!"

"W-who…?" her first word since she got captured here three days ago.

"The Great One." Kadaj whispered, his face glowing with awe and love for the figure of worship he was referring to. As he said so, he raised both his hands up as if to sing praise to the man he termed the people's Savior.

"You don't mean him, do you?" her tiny voice asked, and there was a hint of fear in her voice.

His eyes met hers, and the poor child had to look away. At that instant of time, she could have sworn that she was looking into the eyes of a Devil.

"Yes, I do." He said calmly, "and I want to see Him now."

Without any warning, he suddenly moved forward and grabbed her shoulders so roughly that Marlene let out a small, frightened cry of despair.

And all at once, he was forcing her to look into his hypnotizing eyes and the world started to spin and turned white…

* * *

_He was back in the church. Without the girl. However, it was as if this time, he was not alone._

_**You're here again… **a voice spoke._

_He turned around and saw no one. Could this voice be in his head?_

**_You came here to look for me?_**

_Again, Kadaj was getting confused. Who could it be? Who was speaking to him?_

"_Where are you!" he called out, irritated that once again, he had let himself slipped into the dream. He hated this place._

**_I'm over here!_**

_Spinning around, he saw that she was sitting in the middle of the flowerbed, her usual place. She looked up at him as their eyes met and there was a faint smile on her face._

_Kadaj started to walk towards her, drawn somehow, by the way she was looking at him and the scent of white lilies filled the air._

"_What are you doing here?" he asked._

"_I could ask the same thing." She said, with a hint of giggle in her voice._

"_Where's the child?" he looked around the church. It was deserted except for the both of them._

"_She brought you to me." She said with a small smile. "How are you?"_

**_Cloud…_**

_There was too much going on. He thought he could hear so many voices in his head. And then she was speaking again but he couldn't hear her this time._

"_Wait…" he started to say._

_But she didn't seem to hear him. She continued to speak, her deep green eyes enchanting him till he didn't know how to pull away from her strong gaze._

"_I'm not Cloud." He said quickly, and he felt a little bit disturbed by the distinct shame in his voice, as if he was afraid he had disappointed her somehow._

_She stopped speaking and stared at him for what seemed like a minute, none of them speaking a word._

**_I forgive you…Is that better now?_**

_"You're not Cloud." She finally said after a long pause._

_He shook his head but didn't say anything else._

_Then the white light came again and this time, Kadaj had to look away from the light because it was so piercing._

_When the light faded away, she was gone. And he was standing alone, his blade held tightly in hand and there was a trail of crimson blood on the flowerbed._

* * *

"Let me go!" the girl squirmed in his tight grasp and when Kadaj finally realized he was in the room with the child, he let her go abruptly, causing the girl to fall back onto the floor.

Kadaj shook his head, still a little dazed by the vision he just had. Or was it a dream? Had he been dreaming again?

"The Reunion…" he muttered, annoyed now that the child had failed to bring him to the Great One.

Marlene, meanwhile, had cowered to the corner of the room, hugging her legs tightly around her as she looked up at him with fear.

He took a step towards her. "Who is she?"

The girl shook her head, tears started to trickle down her pale cheeks. He heard her sobbing but his heart did not soften. On the contrary, he got rather irritated.

"Shut up!" his green eyes glowed again and Marlene had to quickly cover her mouth to keep herself from sobbing too loudly, lest it angered the mad man again.

He lowered himself to her level, so that he was now in a squatting position. "Who is that girl in the church?" he asked again, this time his words were cold and hard and a deep frown formed on his face.

"I-I don't know…"

"She knew you. She called me Cloud. Who is she!"

It seemed as if there was a fraction of a second that Marlene stopped sobbing and her big round eyes widened with surprise. A concerned look settled across her face.

"Really?" she asked, intrigued now by the question Kadaj had posed earlier.

"Yes." He muttered, lowering down his tone. He didn't understand it too well, but he felt he had to know who that girl was and why she was haunting his dreams. It seemed as if Marlene knew something. Perhaps she was the key…

"Aerith! She's alive!" Marlene cried out, and there was joy in her eyes as she clapped her hands and almost jumped up to her feet. "I must tell Cloud!"

Kadaj got up to his feet swiftly and rest his blade on her small shoulders. "You are not going anywhere."

The girl quiet down but there was no longer fear in her eyes. It was almost as if she had forgotten he was in the room with her. There was a faraway look in her eyes as a small knowing smile crept onto her face.

Kadaj, meanwhile, was getting annoyed at the look of jubilation on her face. Yet he was curious to know who this _Aerith_ person was and why Marlene was so interested to share the news of Aerith with Cloud.

Just when he decided he could grill her further for information, the door to the room suddenly swung open and Yazoo appeared, looking slightly worried.

"Kadaj, he's here."

Frowning at the intrusion, Kadaj cocked his head and glared at his brother. "Who?"

"Cloud."

* * *

**Thanks for the constructive feedback! I realize I made some grammatical errors and such, so sorry about that! And thanks for reading and sharing your insight and opinion on this story.**

**Kadaj: When do I get to kiss the girl?**

**Aerith: What are you saying! blushes**

**Kadaj: shrugs**

**Cloud: walks in and glares**


	6. Chapter 6: Face off

Chapter 6: Face off

"Cloud is here." Yazoo said.

Kadaj paused, thinking, eyeing the little girl and noticing how her big round eyes lit up with jubilation at the mere mention of his name.

"Well, can't you and Loz handle him by yourself?" Kadaj replied hastily, annoyed.

"Kadaj…"Yazoo started to speak but Kadaj rolled his eyes and cut him off.

"Forget it. I'll do this favor. Watch the girl." He said, his eyes returning to Marlene. "Don't let her get away."

Marlene simply crossed her arms and shot a frown at them, before returning to her spot on the small bed.

Kadaj 's shoulder brushed past Yazoo's as he exited the room, of which Yazoo immediately grabbed his arm in an attempt to slow his pace a little.

"Be careful, brother." Yazoo said softly. There was a hint of fear hidden in his eyes. Kadaj smiled back.

"Don't be foolish. He's weak. If I'm not careful, I may even kill him and spoil the fun for the rest of you."

Yazoo simply nodded gravely at Kadaj's comment as he watched his brother walked down the hallway, and towards the front lobby, where Cloud is waiting solitarily.

* * *

"Brother!" The smaller-framed, silver-haired man called out loudly, as he stood the second-floor of the building.

The blond-haired man raised his head to meet his opponent for the day. Deep, nonchalant mako eyes stared back at his enemy, as he gestured for Kadaj to meet him on the first-floor, where they will dual to the dawn.

"Patience, Cloud, patience!" Kadaj shouted back down at him. He started to circle around the second-floor, eyeing Cloud while the latter turning his body around to meet Kadaj's eyes.

"I will get Marlene back. That is a promise." Cloud said, his voice void of emotions. There was something depressing about his expressions that Kadaj had to chuckle cruelly.

"Look at the state of yourself, brother! Can you even fight me?" As he said so, Kadaj unsheathed his double-blade and pointed it directly down at Cloud. "You're weak." He said, full of disgust. "I find it hard to imagine you're the man that destroyed the Great One."

"Shut up!" Cloud yelled back finally and Kadaj was pleased to see that he was getting a reaction from the otherwise, emotionless man. "What do you want Marlene for? She's innocent! I'll gladly exchange my place for her."

At that, Kadaj let out another laugh, this time, tossing his head back as he did so. His green eyes glimmered again in the darkness of the hall.

"You're such a fool, Cloud. Did you think we _want_ you? Did you really believe you're _that_ important to us?"

Cloud did not reply but a deep frown hung on his stoic face as he glared up at Kadaj.

Kadaj smiled, pleased and continued. "You're nothing but a puppet of Mother and the Great One." Leaning himself over the railing, Kadaj peered down at Cloud. "You should really start to wake up from your dream, Cloud. Not everything in the world has to be about you."

"I'm not a puppet." Cloud muttered, and there was a dangerous glimmer of violence in his deep blue eyes. "You are."

"What?" Kadaj shouted back, both hands gripping the railing tightly as he snarled down at Cloud, daring him to repeat that last statement again.

Cloud, slowly, unsheathed his sword and held it up with both his hands as he readied himself in a defensive stance. "I said, you are the puppet and I pity you."

"DIE , FOOL!" Kadaj yelled as he suddenly leaped down from the second-storey, his double-blade aimed down towards Cloud.

* * *

The sound of metal clashing against metal could be heard echoing throughout the hallway. The fight had begun.

Kadaj proved to be a spectacular swordsman as he wielded his blade with speed and agility around Cloud, while the latter did his best to defend himself, with only minimal attempt at counter-attacking.

"You're too slow, brother!" Kadaj laughed, spitefully as he dodged another sword swing by Cloud.

_Please don't fight here… _

"What the hell!" Kadaj cursed as he heard a voice speaking to his mind. That same voice. Cloud frowned but did not slow down.

_You'll ruin the flowerbed._

"What flowerbed?" Kadaj asked out loud. His attention to Cloud's moves might have falter slightly during that short span of time, because he failed to see Cloud's next swing.

What happens next was Kadaj being thrown to the other side of the room, while Cloud leaned a little on his sword, as they both breathed heavily. Both injured, but both unwilling to reveal the degree of their injuries.

"You're hurt." Cloud finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Give me back Marlene and I'll disappear for now."

Kadaj frowned angrily, seeing red rage only. How he hated to be humiliated by his very nemesis!

"Damn you, Cloud." He muttered but stopped short when another sudden rise of pain erupted near his rib.

However, he gave an unfazed grin back at Cloud, in hopes of fooling him into thinking that he was still mobile, when he clearly was not. "We've been taking good care of Marlene so don't worry. We gave her all the attention she needs."

If Kadaj was hoping for Cloud to walk back out the front door and never appearing again, it was a false hope. Cloud started to strut towards Kadaj, deadly intent in his eyes.

As he glared down at Kadaj, who was still slumped on the floor, he raised his sword again and pointed it down at him. "Payback time." He muttered.

* * *

"Wait!" A voice suddenly shouted from the second-floor. Kadaj bit his lips from the pain and looked up, to see Yazoo, holding the little girl by her hand.

"Marlene!" Cloud shouted, stepping back from Kadaj and lowering his sword.

"Cloud!" the little girl called out and tried to squirm out of Yazoo's grasp but he only gripped her tighter.

"Let her go!" Cloud warned, raising his sword again.

Yazoo was calm and collected. "Let him go, and I'll give you the girl."

"Gladly." Cloud said as he tried to pull Kadaj up.

However, with every tug Cloud carelessly gave him, Kadaj's face paled every second. He was certain now that Cloud had injured his internal organs, possibly his lungs, during that last fight. He was finding it hard to breathe.

Yazoo was watching Kadaj intently from the second-floor. He could see that Kadaj was not well by the rapid discoloration of his skin.

"There!" Yazoo gave Marlene a little push and released her as the little girl ran down the flight of stairs and into the strong arms of Cloud.

"Let's go." Cloud muttered as he carried Marlene by one hand and turned around to face Yazoo and Kadaj. "Next time you messed with my friends again, I'll do more than this."

* * *

Both man were quiet as Cloud left the building. Yazoo finally turned around and looked at Kadaj worriedly.

"You're badly hurt."

Kadaj bit his lips again, fighting back the anguish scream he wanted to let out for his ruptured rips, as well as the shame of being defeated by Cloud.

"You need rest, Kadaj. I'll carry you back into the room." Yazoo said. Kadaj watched his brother, already feeling faint. He could see Yazoo's lips moving silently, as if he was speaking but no words came out of it.

Finally, the world dimmed and became black.

* * *

_He was walking down the aisle, but this time, his left hand was clasped against his chest and he walked with a limp. There was no pain, however. Just the constant thought of meeting the flower girl._

"_So we meet again." He said._

_The flower girl appeared in front of him as soon as he said these words. He noticed how thick and luscious her dark brown hair was, and they flow down freely to her waist._

"_You're hurt." She replied, her green eyes narrowed with concern._

_He was pleased that she was worried about him. "Am I dead?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer._

"_Are you?" she questioned back, tilting her head slightly to the left as her green eyes continue to enchant him to no ends._

"_I hate to answer my own question. It's pointless and stupid." He said truthfully and liking the way she frowned at his crude comments._

_Rolling her eyes, she started to walk towards him and Kadaj felt his chest tightened. The pain returned. It was previously not there but now, he could feel the souring ache of his ruptured rips and without warning, his legs gave way and he collapsed onto the floor of the church._

_She didn't immediately rush to his aid, as he would have like. Instead, she stood there, gazing down at him, her hands behind her back._

"_Hmm I wonder if you're going to pull through."_

"_What did you say?" Kadaj frowned, looking up towards her. There was a strange greenish-white glow coming from behind her that Kadaj had to squint his eyes._

"_I said, I think you're going to make it." She said, smiling down warmly at him._

"_Why would you help me?" he asked her curiously._

"_I didn't. You helped yourself."_

"_It was all your fault to begin with." Kadaj muttered, rolling his green eyes as he said so._

"_What?" she frowned a little, folding her arms._

"_You distracted me back there."_

"_Back when?"_

"_Back when…" Kadaj started to reply but the girl suddenly jerked her head up and glanced around the church._

"_Did you hear that?" she asked, her green eyes full of concern._

"_No, I didn't hear anything." Kadaj muttered. "And I don't appreciate being cut off like…"_

"_Wait! Hear that again?"_

"_What?" Kadaj asked, getting irritated at her lack of attention._

_She suddenly sat down beside him, a little too closely, because Kadaj could even hear her breathing softly._

"_I could hear…" her words trailed off and Kadaj could see her lips moving but he couldn't hear anything._

_Not this crap again, he thought as he strained his ears to hear her._

"…_so be careful out there, okay?" the girl finished, with a worried smile._

"_Sure." He said. He was about to ask her more though, seeing as he was already here, but the girl suddenly skipped back up to her feet._

"_I'll see you some other time. Not too soon, I hope." She said with a light giggle._

"_Wait!" Kadaj called up, struggling to get to his feet but the girl was already walking back towards the flowerbed._

_There was something he needed to say. Something he needed to know for sure before this dream fades away and he ended back up into that cruel reality._

"_Aerith? That's your name, isn't it?" he asked, softly, as if afraid of the answer she would give him._

_She didn't turn around to face him. Instead, she sat down quietly at the flowerbed, her back towards him._

"_Yes. That is my name."_

* * *

**Finally, the sixth chapter is up. Expect each chapters to be updated reeaal slowly due to my schoolwork, but don't worry, I won't abandon the fiction. I'll only just update it once every week or two. Thanks for the reviews and suggestions, guys. Much appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7: Laments in the Church

**Didn't I say I will update this story, like once every week? Sorry, guess I broke that promise. Too busy, too much stuff…lol **

Chapter 7: Laments in the Church 

Kadaj never forgot how Cloud humiliated him at his very own base.

"I'll make him pay, I will." He swore again and again in the presence of his brothers and in solitude. However, other pressing matters had to come before his ultimate and inevitable duel with Cloud.

The fact that the little girl did not bring forth the Reunion with the Great One but instead, brought him to the flower girl, was interesting indeed. Marlene had been an important part of his plan but now that she was no longer accessible, he knew he could always turn to other sources.

_Aerith_, he would whisper her name sometimes when he was alone and other times, when he was not, Loz and Yazoo would gave him a queer look but he offered no explanation. How were they to comprehend something so mysterious and wonderful, he thought. He knew Aerith was something much more than just a girl in his sub-consciousness. One thing for sure, she knew Marlene and Cloud. In that case, she must know the Great One too.

But lately, Kadaj was always preoccupied with thoughts and this cause a degree of concern in the group. His brothers actually asked him if he still wanted to find Mother.

"Of course not, stupid fools." He was tempted to say but instead he gave them a "We will find Mother in time to come. Have patience." That always shut the boys up.

However, he silently admitted that his mind had been distracted of late. The search for Mother seemed pointless to him now. He realized there was a greater answer to their existence and to the existence of the planet and that answer lies in the Great One.

And he also realized something else. The little child, Cloud, Aerith and the Great One are all interlinked together in a way that he didn't quite understand yet but in time, he was certain he would uncover their secrets.

Most of all, he was intrigued by Aerith. She was in another dimension, in another space and time. The only instance he could visit her was in his dreams or when Marlene performed the "Sending".

Kadaj was completely sure that Aerith was in the same dimension as the Great One. If he could somehow connect his consciousness with Aerith, he may very well be able to connect with the Great One.

"Brother, I'm aching for a good fight." Loz said, one afternoon, cracking his knuckles.

Kadaj barely glanced at him. His mind was distracted. He thought he wanted to pay a visit to the church again. The church down at the slums. Maybe if he could just retrace memories, he might be able to find out more about Aerith.

"Did you say something?" Kadaj asked, distractedly.

"Yeah, I said we should…" Loz started to speak but Yazoo suddenly interrupted.

"I was thinking Loz and I needed to check out the other sectors a little more. I've been hearing rumors that the President and the Turks hide around there. If we could find them, we could force them to tell us where Mother is."

"Good, good." Kadaj nodded carelessly. "Go ahead. "

"Huh? Hey Yazoo that's not what I…" Loz started to protest but Yazoo just smiled faintly and pulled him out of the room.

As soon as they were gone, Kadaj decided it was the best time for him to get out of the house and to the church. He couldn't have his brothers know he had been visiting a church in his free time. They would certainly think he was out of his mind.

So with as much discretion as possible, Kadaj slipped on his black cloak and left the building with only one place in mind: The Church.

* * *

It wasn't his first time in the church and it seemed as if nothing have changed. The same old musty smell still hung in the air and the floorboards still creaked as he stepped over them. The church, as usual, was deserted, save for a bed of flowers in the middle of the aisle. 

The scene was every bit the same as his recurring dreams. Only he felt emptier now because he knew he wouldn't see her here. Not in this reality. Not in this time.

_What is this hold you have on me?_

He took a seat near the flowerbed, mesmerized by the silent beauty of this old church. Maybe time do stopped moving here. He felt at peace. Something he only felt when he was sleeping, immersed in his dreams of her. Now, even when he was awake, it was almost as if he was relieving a part of his dream.

It felt strangely good to him and he wanted this foreign sensation to last longer.

"Aerith…" he whispered her name softly. He shut his eyes, trying to picture her again in her usual dress and the way her soft brown curls framed her lovely face.

A gust of wind blew through the church and it ruffled his hair, but it did not bother him. He was at another world of his own. A world where Mother and the Great One did not matter. A world where he only wanted to know more about this flower girl.

His eyes suddenly opened, when he sensed he was no longer alone. Instinctively, his hands reached for his hidden blade, just underneath his cloak, yet he did not wield his weapon. Not yet.

With a fast leap, Kadaj landed neatly and quietly on the far end of a broken pillar and crouched down low, hidden by the shadows and waited.

His keen senses did not fail him, because true enough, soft padded footsteps can be heard echoing through the entrance of the church, drawing nearer and nearer to the flowerbed.

Kadaj peered out from behind the pillar, his bright green eyes meeting a flash of golden blond hair. Spiky golden blond hair.

He might have cursed fluently out loud, but he had to keep his presence unknown._  
_

Kadaj watched, frowning as Cloud approached the flowerbed and seemingly stood there, staring into nothingness. If this were anywhere else, Kadaj would have ambush him without second thoughts. However, he remembered Aerith's words.

_  
You'll ruin the flowerbed… _

Count yourself lucky, traitor, Kadaj thought grimly.

He watched with increasing annoyance at Cloud's lack of intellectual behavior. Just what was he thinking, standing there and staring into thin air? Of course, if Kadaj took a moment to reflect on his earlier behavior, he would have realize Cloud was doing the exact same thing as he was doing just a few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry." Cloud suddenly said gravely, to no one in particular.

Kadaj felt like snapping his head off with his blade. Already, he was itching for a fight.

"I…I can't forgive myself…after so long…I still can't forget that day..." Cloud said again, lowering his head in shame. His voice trembled slightly as he said it.

Kadaj rolled his eyes at this point but then Cloud began to say something else that brought to his attention.

"I want to see you again, Aerith. Why won't you show yourself to me?"

There was complete silence in the church and if Cloud was expecting an answer, he wasn't going to get one.

A sudden rumbling could be heard coming from the sky and within moments, the rain started to fall. Droplets of cool liquid rushed through the hole in the roof of the church and began to drench the flower bed and its inhabitants in no time.

Cloud made no signs to leave and Kadaj was getting impatient.

_Sorry Aerith, I may have to ruin your flowerbed after all_, he thought.

But then suddenly, a soft female voice called out and Kadaj froze in his position.

"Cloud?"

Cloud spun around. Kadaj tried to peer out from the pillar. He got a glimpse of dark black hair, nothing more.

Cloud stared at the female and then lowered his head again. The female started to walk towards Cloud, until finally Kadaj could see her form. She was wearing a deep blue outfit and had a pink ribbon tied around her arm. She was awfully familiar.

"So you've been coming here." The girl muttered, glancing around. Already, the rain was making both of them drenched through. Kadaj, too, was frustrated just sitting there and spying. He wanted to get out of this rain and into a proper shelter.

"Yeah." Cloud muttered. "What are you doing here?"

The girl sighed and now Kadaj could remember what's so familiar about her. She was the "big girl" Loz was infatuated about.

"It's Marlene. Barret can't seem to talk sense into her. She kept saying Aerith is alive but…"

"I know, Tifa." Cloud interrupted, shaking his head slowly. "She's dead."

"Cloud…" Tifa muttered, lightly touching his shirtsleeve. There was another moment of silence between them. Finally, Cloud spoke again.

"Let's go back." He suddenly said.

Tifa nodded, her expression still grim. "Certainly…"

The two walked quietly out of the church. Kadaj watched them as their shadows disappeared completely. When he was certain they were gone, he leaped out from his hiding place and darted to an area where the rain couldn't get in.

"Idiots…" he muttered, running his hand through his wet and slightly limp silver hair.

But it was not to say this trip had been wasted. On the contrary, Kadaj learnt a lot from Cloud today. For one, he knew Aerith had not been appearing to Cloud and second, they thought Aerith was dead, just like they thought the Great One was.

However, Kadaj knew better. And all of a sudden, he wanted to get back to the base and dream of her.

* * *

**Hmm in case some of the readers are wondering, am I a "Cloti" since I pair Aerith with Kadaj? The answer is "No". I don't intend to pair Cloud and Tifa in this fic. The central couple should be Aerith and Kadaj only so…yep!**

**If ya have any questions, feel free to send emails/reviews my way! **


	8. Chapter 8: A glimpse at Insanity

Chapter 8: A glimpse at Insanity

_He was standing in a field of flowers. He had never seen a place quite like this before. It felt almost like he was in Heaven, except Kadaj didn't quite know what Heaven was like._

_The scenery would have taken his breath away, if he weren't so drawn towards a spot where the mist seemed to thicken around it. Kadaj moved closer, almost as if he was guided by an invisible hand to the particular spot._

_Finally, he stood there, reveling the beauty of the field, the smell of fresh spring flowers and the cool morning breeze._

_But then, his motivation to stay here was not because of the magnificent beauty of this serene place._

_It was because of her. He knew he would see her here. Somehow, she brought him to this place. _

"_Where are you?" he called out but was only greeted with silence._

_He was about to continue calling her name until she decided to show herself, when there was a sudden flash of light, right across his eyes. It was so sudden that Kadaj was taken by surprise and he leaped away by instinct._

_However, the light did not hurt him in any way. But it did reveal something most astounding._

_Right in front of him, stood Cloud and Aerith. They were standing, back to back with each other._

"_What the hell…" Kadaj muttered, his eyes narrowing intently as he watched the couple before him. It was as if they didn't know he was there._

_**Cloud…**_

She was speaking now. Kadaj could hear it so clearly in his ear, yet her mouth was closed.

_**What are you doing here, Cloud?**_

Kadaj didn't care what Cloud had to say, and perhaps, that was why he couldn't hear him. All he could see was Aerith and the way her head lowered slightly, whenever she said Cloud's name.

_Kadaj slowly drew out his blade. It was fortunate that his blade was still with him even when this was just a dream._

_No, this is more than just a dream, he thought. Somehow, he was here in Aerith's dimension and Cloud was here too. Maybe she brought both of them here, but for what?_

_Kadaj didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care. Seeing Cloud, and the way Aerith now had her small petite little hand wrapped around his shirt sleeve, made Kadaj fumed. He had never known a rage like this, and even now, he was even surprised at himself for feeling the way he felt right now._

_He felt out of control. Like he was going to burst any time now._

"_Aerith…" he muttered, but his voice held no affection nor love, only contempt. _

"_Did you bring me here just for me to see this?"_

_Naturally, the self-absorbed couple did not seem to notice his presence, nor hear him._

_Not even capable of thinking clearly at this point, Kadaj drew out his blade. He began to make a mad, desperate dash towards the young, oblivious couple, with the sharp end of the blade aiming for Cloud._

_**Stop!**_

_Oh, so now she wants to talk to him? Kadaj laughed scornfully as he lowered his blade. Strangely though, Cloud still could not hear or see Kadaj, but Aerith clearly knew what was happening._

**_Don't do this…please…_**

_She was still in that back-to-back position with Cloud, so Kadaj figured there was nothing they could do. They must have been in a different time space and that was why Cloud couldn't see him, nor know what was happening._

_And Aerith couldn't do anything to stop Kadaj as well._

_The sound of her pleading words did not soften him. If anything else, it made him madder. The way she plead for mercy on the behalf of Cloud sickened him to no end._

_"It's over, Aerith." He suddenly said, darkly._

**_Don't do this. You don't want to hurt her._**

_"What do you mean it's over?" She asked suddenly and Kadaj was surprised to see her turned away from Cloud and faced him, directly in the eye. There was that usual innocent beauty about her, but her voice was strong and it sounded like she was challenging him._

_Cloud, on the other end, was frozen in time._

_"It's over between us." Kadaj said, gripping the handle of his blade tighter._

**_Stop talking like this, fool._**

_"Between…us…?" There was genuine concern in her eyes now. "Are you okay, Kadaj?"_

_"Shut up!" he shouted at her and she took a few steps back, her green eyes widened in shock._

_"Kadaj…" her voice had softened and her expression told him that she felt sorry for him. He didn't need that right now. He didn't need anything, but her. Just what the hell was wrong with him anyway? Why was he feeling so goddamned messed up?_

_"You brought me here. You brought me to you every time I close my eyes. What do you want with me!"_

_He didn't wait for her answer. He was so blinded by the rage that was building up within him. A rage he didn't even know existed until now._

_He raised his blade without so much as a warning, watched as Aerith's expressions turned from that of surprise to horror, then swing the blade down across her chest._

_Crimson red petals flew straight into his eyes. It blinded him with deep red momentarily, as the fallen red petals encircled his body and finally, fall to the grass._

_He closed his eyes, hearing his own breath, feeling his own heartbeat quickened._

_Then he opened his eyes again._

* * *

He opened his eyes and woke up with a start. Beads of perspiration formed at his neck and forehead. He realized he was breathing hard. 

Just a dream…just a dream, he thought to himself as he glanced around in the room. He was on his bed, his deadly weapon rest on the small table in the center of the room.

He quickly got off the bed and checked his blade. It was clean, with no traces of blood.

Relax, Kadaj. Don't be so jumpy, he told himself.

But the dream still lingered in his mind. He couldn't forget it, even though he tried to. The whole process of slashing Aerith with his blade remained fresh in his memory. He felt deeply disturbed by this, and he wondered if she was all right.

* * *

**At last! The long-awaited chapter is up. I've been so busy with school and my social life that I'd almost abandoned this fic. Thanks for all the reviews and feel free to give suggestions etc in the comments box. **


	9. Chapter 9: A Stranger Strikes

**A/N: Hello guys. (and all KadajXAerith fans!) Sorry for the wait. I'm so sinful:( I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me...and enjoy this chapter. :)**

**Chapter 9: A Stranger Strikes**

She never came to his dreams anymore. In fact, he had many dreamless nights since then. He wondered if it was somehow linked to the fact that he tried to kill her the last time. Maybe that was why she wouldn't show herself to him. She was afraid of him now, or worse, she was critically hurt.

Could someone still be hurt physically, when they're no longer in our world? He pondered.

However, Kadaj had little time to dwell on this matter. The plans to find Mother had reached a whole new level, with the involvement of the former President and the Turks.

"I know they're hiding something, but what?" Loz asked, that afternoon when they were just sitting around, doing nothing.

"They insisted they didn't know where Mother was, but I think they're not telling us everything." Yazoo added, glancing at Kadaj to see if their youngest brother was still listening.

Kadaj raised his head and met their eyes. "I'm going to leave Mother to both of you."

"What!" Both of them exclaimed at the same time, their eyes full of questions.

"Before you ask me why, the reason is because we're spending too much resources trying to find Mother with the three of us. Two of you, I presume, will do the job well enough not to disappoint me."

"And what will you do?" Loz asked, frowning. He must have thought Kadaj was looking to sleep his way through work.

"I'd be busy trying to find Marlene again."

"Not that kid again!" Loz moaned. "What's she good for?"

"She's good for everything." Kadaj replied simply. "That last time Cloud rescued her away, we didn't do anything for so long, they must have thought we'd given up interest on the girl. Now's the right time for us, or rather me, to strike again."

"You'd be going up against Cloud and the rest. Will you be all right on your own?" Yazoo asked. There was a look of concern in his eyes.

"That's the last thing you need to worry about." Kadaj said sharply. The two of them looked at each other, but did not say another word. "All right, both of you should get going. Find Mother as soon as possible."

* * *

"Marlene! Marlene!" a very female voice called out.

"I'm over here, Tifa!" The little girl replied. She was crouched down low and she had a basket hang over her thin arm.

"What are you doing here?" Tifa asked, smiling down at the young girl.

"I'm picking flowers for the children." Marlene said simply.

Sometimes, Tifa wondered if Marlene knew she was a child herself.

"For the children? Why?" Tifa asked, as she crouched down next to Marlene.

"They are ill and flowers will cheer them up." Marlene replied simply. Tifa couldn't help but smile at the girl's wisdom and kindness. Marlene kind of reminds her of someone. Someone she had missed for a very long time.

"That's very nice of you. But you know, Barret will be unhappy if he knew you're out here on your own at night."

"Daddy doesn't know anything!" Marlene said, laughing. "If you don't tell him, that is."

Chuckling, Tifa ruffled Marlene's thick brown hair. "I'll promise to keep this a secret if you'll hurry back for your dinner." She said, standing up again.

Marlene nodded. "Okay, I'll be back in five minutes, I promise!"

Tifa smiled and nodded. There was nothing to be worried about. After all, Marlene is a lot wiser than she looks.

* * *

A good distance away, a shadowy figure was hidden in the darkness amongst the trees. He watched quietly as the small girl continued to pick flowers. She seemed to choose carefully on which flowers to pick. What's even better was that she appeared to be alone.

Almost immediately, the shadowed man reached into his breast-pocket and removed a small silver metal piece. He placed the metal piece into his left ear and whispered, "I've got her."

* * *

Marlene hummed a happy tune as she brushed her knees and tidied the flowers in her basket. Boy, will the children be pleased when she showed them these!

She was grinning when she realized her stomach was gently growling and that she was indeed hungry. A meal prepared by Tifa was suddenly a tempting thought.

She started to turn around but in her haste, she had not noticed the dark shadow that had loomed up behind her. So much so, that she clumsily bumped into the stranger.

"Ouch." She muttered, rubbing her nose as she fell back onto the grass. The shadows loomed over her and she lift her head to meet the stranger.

"Marlene…that's your name, isn't it?" The man asked, his voice almost gentle.

She thought she'd seen this man before but right now, memories just wouldn't cooperate.

"Umm, yeah…who are you?"

"I'm a friend of Cloud." The stranger said. And suddenly, Marlene didn't know where it came from, but there was a sudden hard pinch on her neck and before long, her world had turned decidedly black.


	10. Chapter 10: Turks

**A/N: Hey guys! Wow it's been ages since I last updated this fic. But I have some time on my hand now, so things should get moving pretty quick. Sorry about the wait and for those of you who's been commenting, thanks alot! Keep them coming!**

**Chapter 10: Turks**

"So this is the girl?"

"Yep."

"I'll tell the President straight away."

"Wait…don't…not yet."

"Reno…?"

"I'll like to speak to her in person first."

* * *

Marlene rubbed her eyes. Her head felt dizzy but most of all, she was hungry. Her eyes revealed a small room, cramped and dusty. She was suddenly stricken with fear, for this was very familiar. Hadn't that group of silver-haired men kidnapped her before?

Were they doing this again?

Before she could think it through, the door in front of her suddenly flung open. A tall man, dressed in deep blue suit, with his white shirt untagged and a few buttons on his shirt unbuttoned, walked in.

Marlene recognized that flaming red hair anywhere. After all, she had lived in the slums her entire life and she knew immediately that she was not in the hands of the silver-haired men, but the Turks.

What did the Turks want with her?

"Hey sweetie, how's your neck feeling?"

"Very sore." Marlene retorted.

The man scratched his head uncertainly. "So Marlene, don't be afraid. We won't hurt you."

"I'm not afraid."

The Turk widened his eyes. Marlene noticed they were a very bright blue. A sneer crept onto his otherwise, handsome face. "Good to know. My name is Reno and I've brought you here because of…certain reasons."

Marlene was no-nonsense. "What do you want from me?"

Reno paused, a small frown creased his forehead. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the depths of the night, a hooded figure lurked near the Orphanage. He was waiting for the right moment to strike.

The front yard was empty, save for the few wild flowers growing. He took a step nearer to his target, knowing full well that he would not leave until he got what he had came for.

The object of his mission would be in her bedroom, just like that last time. But this time, he was making sure she wouldn't get any help.

Sensing that the time is right, the hooded figure dashed across the front yard, staying close to the shadows cast by the buildings.

He stopped when he was directly below a window. A window that he remembered it belonged to the little girl.

Effortlessly, he leaped up a good distance and heaved himself through the window, and landed perfectly.

He half-expected to see the little girl sleeping in her bed. But the room was empty.

"What in the world…?" the hooded figure muttered.

The bed did not even looked like it had been slept in, which only meant one thing.

The girl had not returned to her bedroom at all.

But where could she have been?

_Kadaj…?_

"Huh?" the hooded man spun around. That voice. He would recognized it anywhere. "Aerith…?"

For a split second, he lost his focus, because his mind was filled with images of the flower girl.

So when the bedroom door silently opened, Kadaj didn't even notice that. And when he did, it was already too late.

There was a sudden loud booming blast, and Kadaj felt his body being jolted forcefully forward.

The pain did not come until much later, when he was on his knees.

"You son of a bitch! What did you do to my Marlene!" Someone shouted at him.

But Kadaj's world was already spinning. Weakly, he grasped his chest and felt something damp and sticky soaking through his black cloak. He held up his hand and saw that it was crimson red.

_Like the red petals…_

That was his last thought before he closed his eyes.

* * *

"You're pretty special, you know that?" he said. He was already comfortably sitting beside the girl and they had been conversing for the past hour like they were old friends.

"So everyone tells me that." Marlene said, but her tone was serious. Like she was holding in a heavy secret. A secret she must not tell anyone.

Reno smirked. "So, why don't you tell me more about…you know, the dreams you had."

Marlene paused. "They're nothing special."

"Maybe not as special as you, but you did mention that you were bothered by them."

The little girl looked away. Maybe she shouldn't have divulged so much detail to the Turk. But somehow, he had been persuasive and a good listener.

She hadn't even talk about those dreams she had with her father, or to Tifa. Why was she telling these to somehow that's almost like a complete stranger?

Maybe it was because he wouldn't judge her. Tifa and her father would, she knew that. They would get terribly upset at her, and maybe even stopped her from going out on her own.

"I've…had dreams of…Him."

Reno sat up straighter. The air in the room seemed to have thickened. "Him?"

Marlene nodded. "He is…still alive…"

"Did you tell anyone about your dreams?"

She shook her head quickly. "No! They…they wouldn't believe me anyway…"

"Smart move." The Turk said. Marlene looked up and met his strong blue eyes. "Don't tell anyone about this dream."

* * *


	11. Chapter 11: You are my Heaven

**A/N: Hey! Another update for all Kadaj x Aerith fans! This has more Kaerith interaction so you're gonna love it. Thanks for all the comments. Keep them coming:3**

**Chapter 11: You are my Heaven**

_Kadaj…_

_Kadaj… Wake up…_

Where…where are you…?

_I'm right here…Kadaj._

I…I want to see your face.

_Open your eyes, Kadaj…_

Something wet slipped down his cheeks. Momentarily, he opened his pale green eyes and the first thing he saw was those beautiful green eyes. So clear and so crystal-like, he thought he was in Heaven again.

I'm in Heaven now, right?

_Do you believe in Heaven, Kadaj?_

You're my Heaven.

* * *

"That dirty son of a bitch! Fainted like a pussy he is! I'm gonna beat some shit sense into him!"

"Barret, he's already unconscious. Let's wait for Cloud to return, okay?"

"That spikey arse ain't never returnin' and you know it!"

"…"

"Eh…sorry Tifa."

"I'm going to go and check on Denzel."

* * *

_I'm your…Heaven?_

Yes. You are mine.

_Kadaj…_

I won't let him take you away from me again.

_Who?_

I don't remember his name.

_You're hurt…Kadaj…_

Why can't I see your face again? Why is everything black?

_You can't see me, kadaj. No one can…_

But I saw you…your eyes…

_You didn't see me. But you feel me…just as I feel you now._

I want to see you.

_It's time for you to go back…_

No. I want to stay here with you.

_Kadaj…_

I'm not…Cloud.

* * *

Barret stared at the unconscious silver-haired figure slumped lifelessly against the metal pipe, where he had chained him up. His eyebrows twitched, knowing that Marlene, his dear little Marlene was missing. He knew without a doubt that Kadaj must have something to do with it.

"Wake up, fool!" he growled, giving the lifeless figure a good kick in the shin. Kadaj's body jolted violently from the blow but no sound came out.

"Did I kill him?" Barret wondered out loud. Crouching next to Kadaj, he tried to check his pulse but couldn't find one. It was then he noticed the dark stain near Kadaj's chest, where his bullet had tore through.

"Fuck, I gotta fix him up fast." Barret muttered. He was the only link to Marlene's disappearance and though Barret would love to put a bullet through his brain, he can't do that until Kadaj revealed where he had hid Marlene off to.

* * *

_Did you say…Cloud?_

The blackness lifted and Kadaj could see again. It was white now. Pure, snow white. He tried to sit up but realized he was too heavy to move. And he was leaning on a silver tree with leaves made out of crystals.

"So, death isn't really such a big deal after all."

_You're still breathing…_

"Why don't you come and sit next to me?" He muttered, not exactly knowing where he should be speaking to, for she had not shown herself to him yet.

There were no answers. Was she gone again? He felt a sudden well of emptiness. Like his soul was never there. Maybe he was just an empty shell. And only she could have filled that void inside him.

"Lament, lament…" a tiny giggle escaped from behind the tree he was leaning on.

Kadaj spun around and there she was, dressed in that simple pink peasant garb, looking like an angel.

"I'd missed you. Stay with me." He said openly, no longer unsure of even afraid of expressing his feelings. He don't know what love is. He don't even know the meaning of lust. For years, he had only lived on the thirst to find Mother and to revenge her.

All these feelings were new to him. All he knew for certain right now, was that he wanted her. More than anything in the world. More than Mother.

And that's saying a lot for a man like Kadaj.

As beautiful as she looked right now, a cast of shadow fell across those emerald eyes. "Don't say that, Kadaj."

"Why not?" he retorted defiantly. He tried to stand up, to move closer to her, but realized that the roots from the tree were clutching his body, wrapping its branch strongly across his waist.

"Don't struggle. It won't do you any good." She said gently. "Let me come to you instead."

He watched her and held her eyes, as the flower girl eased nearer to him, until she crouched down and was now directly in front of him.

"Aerith…" he whispered her name. He loved that name. It sounded like Heaven to him.

As if reading his mind, she tilted her head a little. "Do you believe in Heaven, Kadaj?" she asked, pressing her left hand gently across his forehead.

It felt warm to him. Her touch. How he wished it would stay there forever. That warm feeling.

He closed his eyes, upon relishing her warmth. "I believe in you."

* * *

"Oh! He's breathing again!"

"That was close. Phew!"

"I told you to leave him alone till he wakes, Barret."

"Sorry, Tifa. I swear I didn't know my bullet almost hit his heart."

"Wait, look! He's opening his eyes now…I think he can see us."

"Yuffie, would you mind getting some more warm water and bandages?"

"Sure, Tifa."

* * *

Pale green eyes stared blankly at them. A scowl appeared on those boyish features. The scowl Tifa remembered all too well. After all, he was the terror that had plague the city for a long time, turning everything upside down in their search of Mother.

"Welcome back to the real world." Barret muttered. "Now you stinkin' piece of shithole, tell me where Marlene is!"

"Who's Marlene?" the stranger asked. There was a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

Barret grabbed his collar. "Don't you lie to you, silver hair freak!"

"Barret, let him go now!" Tifa quickly stepped between them. "It's not going to help if you kill him again."

Pain and anguish suddenly gripped Kadaj's face. He clutched his chest in agony and crouched back down on the floor.

"Argh…this…pain. So this is what it feels like…"

"Shut up, freak!"

"Barret!"

Kadaj looked up at them. "She brought me back here…to feel…this pain? This sense of loss?"

"What…what are you talking about?" Tifa muttered, frowning slightly.

But the silver-haired man no longer speaks. A strange dullness settled into his eyes.

"Where the hell is Marlene!" Barret shouted again, this time, he rammed his machine gun hard against Kadaj's temple.

"Barret!" Tifa gasped. "Don't!"

But Barret wasn't listening anymore. "Tell me or I'm blowin' your stinkin' little head off!"

Eyes as black as sin stared blankly back at Barret. "I killed her. I killed that little girl." He whispered.

"You SON OF A BITCH!"

He closed his eyes, awaiting his death. For something else beyond death is awaiting him. There was a loud boom and he thought he felt something slapped his head.

That was all he remembered.

* * *

**Zomg...did I just killoff Kadaj-san? 0o**

**Over and out! Till I see you in the next chapter! Enjoy!**


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